Piece in Their Games
by StarkidChelsea
Summary: Hermione is fleeing from Snatchers with Harry and Ron when she stumbles and is transported to a world unlike her own. She finds herself in Panem, the home of the Hunger Games. She is mistaken for a volunteer... May the odds be ever in her favour.
1. Run

_Sometimes different words collide. Sometimes by accident. Sometimes by fate. Sometimes by the cruel hands of those who hunt you. This is what happens when the lines overlap._

* * *

The light is streaming through the sheet of tent above me, I roll over and pull the covers over my head as I try to get back to sleep. The task seems impossible now as the birds outside begin their morning song. "Oh, shut up," I murmur as I shove my pillow over my head.

"Someone's cheery this morning," says a gruff voice.

I roll over to see Ron with a huge grin on his face, "Urgh! It should be illegal to be up this early," I say as I sit up and rub my eyes.

Harry enters the tent and freezes, "Did I just enter a parellel universe? Isn't Ron supposed to be the tired one and you the wide awake, alert one?"

Ron rolls his eyes, "Give her a break, mate. She's tired, give her some time."

Harry sits down opposite him, "She's done the exact same work as me and I've been up since the crack of dawn collecting fire wood." He scowls at Ron, "Which you were meant to be helping me with. I trust you spent your time wisely," he says.

I sit there in silence as the boys talk, they don't seem to notice me as I jump down from the bed. I yawn and stretch as they continue on with their chat. I smile to myself as Ron stutters over his words, "I-I-I-I was keeping an ear out for the radio, just in case something is announced. I need to make sure my family is safe."

Harry nods, "I'm sure that's not the only reason, I think the other reason is a very grumpy female," he says as he winks at Ron.

I clear my throat, "Guys, I'm right here," I wave my left hand at them as they turn to look at me. Ron jumps a little, he must have forgot I was behind him. His face starts to go a deep red in colour as he clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck in the awkward silence. "Anyway, we need to leave soon. Start packing your things, we need to move, we have some Horcruxes to hunt."

Harry grumbles, "Aaaaand Hermione is back. Let's get to it, Ron."

Ron nods his agreement as I pick up clean clothes and a wash bag, "I'm just going to get washed, I'll see you guys in a bit. Try have everything packed for my return."

I leave before they can answer, the sound of Harry's chair scraping back fills the air as I start the ten minute walk to the secluded stream. I close myself off from my mind as I take in the world around me, the vivid green of the moss that covers the ground as I walk. The vibrant yellow of the daffodils growing in the Spring. I stop to pick one, I continue on my walk while smelling the sweet aroma of the flower. I start to hear the gushing of the stream as I approach my destination. My mood lifts as I set my things down. I run my hand through my bushy brown hair as I sit down for a short while, to take a breather before I prepare myself for the day ahead. I imagine Harry and Ron back at the tent, I can see that they aren't doing their job in tidying up. Knowing them, they are clowning around, probably charming the furniture to fight each other. I roll my eyes at the thought and smile. Ron and Harry mean the world to me, one as a brother, the other... means a bit more. Things were going great since he came back. I slowly forgave him for deserting me. I guess that story about the ball of light really got to me, it showed me another side to Ron that I haven't seen before. A romantic side that I'm slowly falling for.

I wash quickly as I distract myself from thoughts of Ron, I still find myself smiling as I get my clean clothes and start to dress. I decide to tie my hair back into a high ponytail, it is more practical for the mission we are on. Our task; kill Voldemort. It's proving to be harder than we originally thought but we have some of them destroyed already, with the help of the deceased Albus Dumbledore, we have been working to decipher the clues to find the resting places of those final horcruxes.

I finally start to head back as I check my watch, I've been away from the boys for about forty-five minutes. I think by this time they should have some amount of packing done, we really need to move fast. Especially with the rise in Snatchers and Death Eaters out for Harry's head on a stick. The smile disappears from my face as I come across the daffodil patch that I previously passed on my way out. The flowers were trampled and destroyed, someone had come this way and in a hurry. "Ron, Harry," I gasp as the realization hits me. "No!" The tracks from the patch indicate at least five or six men. This means we are outnumbered.

I drop my belongings and draw my wand, I pick up my pace and race back to our tent. Confusion hits me as the air is still and no sound enters my ears, the world is deathly silent, the only sound I hear is coming from the crunch of my soles as they slap down on the ground. The cold grips at my lungs as I charge ahead, my breath coming in hard and fast.

I eventually make it to the tent and it looks normal, no disruption to it's appearance. I kneel down to check the ground for tracks, I'm no expert but as far as I can tell, the only tracks around belong to me. I enter the tent slowly, wand raised. "Ron, Harry," I mutter into the wind. Tapping sounds fill the stale air as I freeze, I search with my eyes for the noise and discover it's just the rain outside starting up. Hopefully it will wash away my tracks, I should have done that myself. I cursed to myself as I advance futher into the tent, not making a sound as I look around.

Before I could react, a hand clamps over my mouth and waist then yanks me back. I am about to scream when Harry's glasses and piercing green eyes come into view. I realise that the hand that covers my mouth is Ron's. Harry rolls his eyes, "Ron, you can let her go now," he whispers.

Ron's hand let's go off my mouth but his other hand remains on my waist, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he whispers into my ear.

"It's ok, what's going on?" I whisper to them both.

I notice Harry's hand is gripped around his wand, he's preparing to fight if needed. I notice Ron do the same as he uses his other hand to take his wand out of his jeans. "Two snatchers, we had to hide," he whispers again.

I frown, "That's not possible, the charms, how did they get through?"

Ron bites his lip, "That's my fault, I took them down too early, I should have waited for you to come back. I'm sorry, Hermione, this is my fault."

I place one of my hands over his, "Don't blame yourself, this isn't your fault," I say as I try to smile at him.

Harry bounces on his heels, "I have a plan, we either run for it now or we fight. What do you say?" He looks at us both, waiting for an answer.

Ron nods at him, "I say we take them on, we can beat them," he says.

I shake my head, "No, we can't, Ron. How many did you say were in here?"

Harry whispers, "Two."

I think for a minute, the tracks I saw at the patch, the lack of noise, "That means there is at least three or four more of them out there. I found tracks earlier, about six men in total. We are outnumbered. We need to run," I say.

It takes a while but they finally agree on running. We prepare ourselves physically and mentally, the sounds of the kitchen being torn apart scares us slightly but we have no other choice. After three, we bolt from our hiding place. We duck at the spells being thrown at us as they begin to give chase. Harry is in the lead, leading us away from our enemy. Ron is running beside me, shouting random spells at the Snatchers. He manages to blow up a tree as his spell misses, "Great, Ron, keep it up. Give them obstacles."

"Bloody hell, I have no idea how I done that," he shouts over his own panting.

I point my wand at a hug birch tree and shout, "BOMBARDA!" The tree partially explodes and falls where we were moments before.

My pace starts to slow as I run out of energy, if I don't hurry, I will be killed or worse, taken to Voldemort. One of the Snatchers catches up to us and dives for my ankle, he manages to grab me and I find myself falling. We both fell sideways down a huge hill. The steepness and the speed of our tumble causes me to lose balance and I find myself being thrown violently down the slope, I felt a graze on my cheek as I thumped to a stop. I reach up gingerly and feel a cut bleeding on my cheek, I have no time to play nurse to myself as the Snatcher regains his balance and starts on me again. I get up and run in the opposute direction, I have no idea where I am going but I have to keep moving. I hear Ron and Harry shouts from a distance as they search for me, I send up red sparks with my wand as I speed up.

I manage to trip up again but this time, I hit something and I feel my body being yanked from the ground, my head spins as the world dissolves into a haze of colours that blend into each other, I can't distinguish what is what as I close my eyes.

After what seems like a lifetime, I feel my body connect with the ground again. Only it's not grass or moss like the forest that we were running through. No, I smack off concrete before being pulled to my feet. Then a loud booming voice sounds...

"Look here, we have our first volunteer!"

* * *

I would appreciate feedback because feedback is awesome :)

All characters belong to J.K Rowling and Suzanne Collins. Storyline belongs to me.


	2. Time Warp

_Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, and an even bigger thank you to all 5 of you who reviewed. It means a lot to me, thank you!_

* * *

I look around the place with a puzzled look. My eyes haven't adjusted to the light so that must mean one thing, we are outside. The sun distorts everything within my field of vision, I blink a few times and stumble on my feet as I try to find my balance. A sea of blurred faces come into focus as my eyes finally start to adjust, I make out about 200 people altogether, what is this place?

I blink again and for the first time, I really see what I'm looking at. The sea of faces are all young, no older than eighteen, I frown as they are all staring at me. Their eyes bore into me as confusion spreads across all of my features, there is not one single thing here that I recognise, or person that I know. Where am I?  
There is a light tap on my shoulder and I turn to face a tall woman with dark brown skin and pale green eyes. She towers over me as her smile spreads out thinly across her sullen cheeks. "What is your name?"

I bite my lip as I frown, I have no idea what's going on or where I am, "H-Hermione. Hermione Granger."

The woman nods, her eyelashes curl up, reaching to the sky, decorated with the green shades to match her eyes. Her hair flows in ringlets down to her shoulders. She looks like a well looked after woman, I wonder where she is from. "Well, Hermione Granger, well done for volunteering," I raise my eyebrow at her in confusion.  
I pat my jeans down, looking for my own wand. It doesn't seem to be anywhere, I look around, distracted from what she is saying, "Volunteer? Volunteer for what? - has anyone seen my wand?"

"Volunteer for tribute. You are the female tribute that will represent District 8 during the Hunger Games," she frowns at me as I walk over to the edge of the stage.  
"Has anyone seen my wand? It's important, I need it, it's really important," the crowd murmurs as I search. The wand isn't to be seen anywhere so I stand back up and look at the woman, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

She clears her throat, trying to look like nothing fazes her, "I said you are the new District 8 female tribute, congratulations," she smiles widely, showing her unusually bright pearly white teeth, on the main incisor, I can see a huge silver diamond embedded into her tooth. She motions me to approach her and for the first time, I hear the whir of technology. I look around and notice cameras on my, filming me from every angle. I lean up to her and whisper, "What's going on, where are Ron and Harry?"  
She looks as confused as I do, "Ron and who? Who are they, dear?"

I start to really panic, "Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, you don't know who they are?"

She shakes her head, "Of course not, dear. Now if you could just ta-"

"Have you seen my wand?"

"Wand, what wand?"

My hands are shaking now as I stand there, "My wand, I need to find it, I've lost it. If I don't find it soon, I'm no better than an average muggle," I say to her.  
"Muggle? My dear, what on this earth are you talking about?"

I decide to spell it out slowly for her, I don't have time to waste as I feel myself slipping. My fear and panic grabbing at every pore of my body, "My name is Hermione Granger, I'm seventeen and I'm a- I need to get back to where I was so I can help my friends defeat- you have no idea what I am talking about do you?" I think for a moment, they don't seem to understand, "Urgh come on Hermione, use your brain." I mutter to myself as I pace, the movement allows me to block my emotions as I try to think of a reasonable answer to this. I have to be careful, I turn to look at her, "I seem to have got lost, can you point me in the direction of the exit. Sorry for wasting your time," I say.

She looks at me for a few moments then roars with laughter, the crowd follow and soon enough, the whole place is erupt with laughter at my expense. I survey in confusion as they turn to each other to mock what I say. I turn to leave but two men with with white uniforms and helmets stop me and force me back. The tall woman shakes her head, "You can't leave now, you have been reaped. The only option you have left is forward, now please stand - in silence while I announce the male."  
The two males usher me to the side of the woman and stand on either side of me, I observe the square, trying to calculate the risk if I try to escape but I have no chance, the men are so close to me, I'm boxed in. No chance of escape. I scan the area again, staying alert. I turn to the man on my right and whisper, "Where am I?"

The man grunts, "District 8."

"I figured that much out from that woman's rambles, now where is this District? I have never heard of such a place," I say.

He breaks his stillness and looks at me with disgust, "Panem," he says.

I roll my eyes, "I've never heard of this place either, where is it? Or are you just messing with me?"

I can tell he is getting annoyed as he answers, "District 8, Panem, North America," he says then returns to facing the front, ignoring me.

America? That would explain why they look at me weird when I talk. I search my brain for an answer, an answer to why I am in North America and not England. I try to recall all of the books I have ever read, there is no mention of this sort of thing ever happening before and it certainly doesn't look like I'm in the 90's anymore. Could this be the future?

Before I figure out anything, I am being pushed back, the men in white guiding me towards a door. There is a tall boy beside me, his light brown eyes watery as he tries to control his emotions. The second the door closes, he breaks down and his knees buckle. He falls to the floor and floods of tears roll down his cheek. I look on as my right eyebrow raises at the scene I am watching, "What's going on?"

The tall woman shuffles past me, "He's just upset, give him some time and he'll adjust," she says.

I frown at her as I follow her, "Adjust? Adjust to what?"

She looks at me, "Adjust to the fact that he is, in all probabilty, going to die," she says as if this was a just a casual chat over coffee.

If this is true, how can she be so calm about this boy's death, "Why is he going to die? Is he ill?"

She chuckles slightly, "No dear, he is not ill. He has been picked for a death tournament, everyone is upset at first," she says and motions with her hand for the men in white to pick the boy up and to follow her.

I force my feet to run after her, "Death tournament? What are you talking about?"

She opens a door and looks at me, as if noticing something about me for the first time, "Your accent is funny, where are you from?"

I enter the room then turn back to her, my body shaking, "England, I don't understand why I am here though. I was in a forest about an hour ago, I have no idea why I am here," I say.

She closes the door as the men set the boy on the couch and leave, it's just the three of us now, "You are here because you have volunteered for the honour of representing your district, an honour that people should be happy about. Not stand there and talk about some silly nonsense that does not exist. Now, if you don't mind, I have business to attend to," she looks at me. "Don't do anything stupid while I am absent."

She closes the door and I find myself shouting, "IT'S NOT SILLY! And we didn't get rid of Umbridge just for her to replaced by another idiotic woman who doesn't know what she is talking about," I punch the door absentmindedly.

"Arguing won't help, no one can help you now. We are in this till we die, we have no other choice," the boy speaks up.  
I turn to face him, "What is this tournament? What have I apparently volunteered for?"

He stands up and wipes his face clear of his tears, "The hunger games, the Capitol's way of controlling us," he says.  
I frown again, "What is the Capitol?"

He looks at me, as if I said something insulting, "Are you joking me? In fact, are you insane? The Capitol is in charge, they control what we do. And now, we are going to die!"

I look at him defiantly, "I'm not going to die and I'm not going to participate in this stupid game, they can find someone else," I say then turn to the door, I try to open it but it's completely shut down. I can't get out, "What is this? Why am I locked in?"

"I told you, you're in this till you either die or win, you have no other choice," he says.

I'm about to snap at him but the woman appears again after unlocking the door, "Come on, dears. We have to leave now, we have a journey ahead of us," she says.  
The boy nods, "Are we heading to the train now," he asks.

She nods, "Yes we are, no I would appreciate it if you went with me now, I won't be plesant if you make us late. We have the parade tonight, it's just bad manners not to be there on time," she says.

I fold my arms over my chest and stand my ground, "I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on. I don't know any of this and frankly, it's highly ridiculous. So if you please, tell me the truth now. I do have stuff to do, I don't have time to deal with your insane plot," I say as my jaw sets.

She points her finger at me and her expression shifts, no longer calm and collected but that of a slight mad woman, "Nothing I say is insane, there is no plot. I am Iona Fiola," I scoff slightly at the name. She is not amused, "Think my name is funny, it's not. My name is highly respected throughout the Capitol-"

I look at her, "Fictional Capitol," I say to interrupt her.

She chuckles slightly, "The Capitol is in no way, a fictional place. It's beauty and prominence marks it's importance, if you come with us to the train, you will see it shortly," she says.

I scowl at her, "I told you, I'm not going. This is probably a plot by Voldemort, to mess with my head, make me see things. Unravel my mind so that getting to Harry is easier. I tell you now, I refuse, outright, I am not going anywhere with you!"

Her finger pointing gets more aggressive, "You will come with me now or you will be punished severly, and trust me, you don't want that to happen," she snaps.

I raise my eyebrow at her, "I've had worse dealt to me before, I'm not afraid, I am a Gryffindor after all," I say confidently.

The boy frowns, "What's a Gryffin... door? What does it me-"

Iona cuts him off and glares, "Move. Now!"

I shake my head and she nods to something behind me, a sharp pain appears at my neck and I start to panic, "What did you just do? What did you d-"  
My vision blurs and my limbs start to tingle, I feel myself falling forward as I hit the ground and the room fades to black.

* * *

_I changed the chapter up slightly, some of the reviews say that Hermione wouldn't act the way I wrote her but what I was trying to get across is the fact that she's just been transported into the future and volunteered for something she does not understand. Hermione's nature is to get the answers right away. She panics and is under a lot of stress. I tried to get this across in the way I wrote it, when she panics, she doesn't think about what she is saying, she is just trying to find her way back. Sorry if it doesn't make sense, it's just the way I wanted to write her._


	3. Somebody That I Used to Know

The pain in my head starts to reveal itself to me as I start to wake. I try to move my hands but they wouldn't budge, it's like I have fell victim to a full body bind. My eyes scrunch up as the pain hits my temple, I can understand why Harry always looked the way he did when his scar hurt, I don't have a connection to a Dark Lord but boy does this headache hurt.

As my senses come back, I am aware that I am in a bed, the covers over me weigh next to nothing at all so why do I fell weighed down? The ceiling above me swims in my vision as I try to blink the movement away, doesn't work. I try to call for help but my voice is rusty and my throat feels gritty, like I haven't drank anything in a long time.

There is movement at the foot of the bed as I look around, I turn my head with great difficulty and I'm relieved when Ron comes into view, "Ron, you're here," I sigh.

He doesn't reply as he moves to my left side, he pulls the covers off and fumbles with my wrists. The weight is lifted and I realise that I was shackled to the bed, I guess they didn't want me to run away or attempt to go back home. "Ron, where are we? Can you help me up?"

Again, he doesn't say a word as he shuffles to the other side of the room where he opens the curtains, I turn my head away as the light comes shining through, burning my retina's in my eyes. I squeeze them shut then open them again and I focus on a small stain on the wall, am I going insane or are the walls bouncing up and down slightly?

Now that my hands are free, I have the movement back and I push myself up into a sitting position, with great difficulty I may add. I rub my wrists and frown, my voice is coming back stronger but the headache remains. "Ron, can you do something for my headache? It's extremely painful and I have lost my wand," I look up at him as he stays silent. "Ron?"

The shooting pain in my temple intensifies as a door opens and someone enters, it's the woman from before, "Good morning dear, how are you?"

I rub my palm against my forehead and groan, "What have you done to me? My head feels awful," I say as I grit my teeth.

She smiles, "That is just the drug exiting your body, you will feel right as rain in no time at all," she says.

"D-Drug?" Then suddenly I remember a sharp pain in my neck and the world turning back, I lift my head up and glare at her. "You! You did this?" I look at Ron, "Help me!"

As the pain starts to fade, my vision starts to swim again. The woman is talking but all I hear is static, I lookt to Ron in a panic but he's not there anymore. Ron's features start to morph and scramble up, I blink a few times to try and get rid of the sight but it doesn't work. His face keeps merging together then it suddenly stops. Ron is no longer standing there but an older man with light red hair and a scar on his cheek, "You're not Ron, where's Ron? Who are you?"

The woman smiles at me, "Don't worry, the drug we gave you had some tracker jacker venom in it. You should be back to normal now," she says in her casual tone.

I frown as I jump out of the bed, my legs nearly give way but I remain upright, "What the heck is a tracker jacker?"

She laughs then looks at me, "As if you don't know," she says.

I frown, "I don't, that's why I asked," I reply.

She shakes her head, "You are a very peculiar person. Anyway, I have come to tell you that you are required to be in training today, you need to get changed," she points to the clothes on the dresser. "But I suggest you go for a shower first."

"Training? Where am I?"

"You are in the Capitol, my dear," she replies then leaves. The male who I thought was Ron left too along with the other silent female.

I wait a few seconds before moving, hoping that I will wake up any time after now but I don't so I do what the woman – Iona Fiola I think her name is – told me to do. I go for a shower.

When I do though, I am surprised at what I find, buttons that release various assortments of soap and shampoo, I find myself amused at all of this advanced technology. After I finish showering I get changed into the clothes that Iona indicated. A black t-shirt with red and grey banding with a number '8' on the back, I guess that represents the District that I am apparently a tribute for. The trousers are black too with the same banding down the side. The boots are surprisingly comfortable as I lace them up and test them as I pace. What now?

I cautiously leave the room and I see that Iona is talking to a tall male, not the young man that was reaped with me but a different one. He is tall and muscular, his short cropped bronze hair sits on the top of his head, messy and wild. Glasses sat on top of his nose and he has to keep pushing them up when he speaks. He is wearing all black, giving him a fierce angry look to his demeanour. They are in deep conversation as I spot the young male, he is over on the couch, wringing his hands together, he looks nervous.

As I go over, I see that he is wearing the exact same outfit, I guess everyone would be for this training, whatever it is that she was talking about. He looks up at the sound of my footsteps and sighs, "I see you are awake," he says.

"Very observant of you," I reply as I sit down beside him.

A smile plays across his face slightly as he turns to look at me, "I'm sorry they had to do that to you," he says. "But from now, we need to work together, are you ok with this?" he asks.

"I uh – I-"

Iona cuts me off as she motions us to approach her, "It is time to go to training now, Hermione this is your mentor," she waves her hand to the man. "Listen to him and it might give you an advantage. He is a previous Games winner so respect what he says," she adds before leaving us with him.

He wiggles his finger at us and starts to walk into the lift, "Hurry up, District 8 have a lot to prove this year and I'm doubting if you both have what it takes to prove me wrong. Do you?" he stares at us as the lift door closes and we start to descend. "Well, do you?"

The boy beside me nods, "Yes sir," he says.

They both look at me as I stare at the closed doors, I raise an eyebrow as I turn to face them, "Oh, you are asking me? Sure, we'll prove you wrong at whatever it is that we've to prove you wrong at," I say then turn back to the door.

I hear the boy sigh and the man chuckle slightly as the lift slowly grinds to a stop, we all step out into a grand room filled with people of various sizes. All were wearing the same black costume as me, except the numbers on the pack differed. I saw people with the numbers 1, 2, 5, 9, 11 and 12. All the others were not in my eyeline as they were either facing me or moving about. We advance into the centre of the room and our mentor tells us to stay put. I take the opportunity to search the faces, to see if there are any that I recognise. No luck though, I don't know one single person here. My eyes meet the blue eyes of a tall male whose frame towers over the small black haired girl beside him and muscular arms bulge out from his training shirt. He folds his arms over his chest as he stares at me, he lifts his chin and smirks slightly. I blink a few times then I turn away from him, I feel his gaze on my back as I try to distract myself, I turn to the boy beside me as he shuffles from foot to foot, "I'm sorry, I don't know your name, what do I call you?" I ask.

He looks down at me, "You can call me Sam," he smiles.

I nod, "I'm Hermione," I reply. I think for a moment, "Can you tell me what's happening and why that guy is staring at me?" I add.

"It's training and that guy, is a District 2 tribute," he says.

I look over my shoulder at him, "What's so special about him?" I ask as I turn back to Sam.

Sam raises an eyebrow at me then decides to humour me, "District 1, 2, 4 and sometimes 3 occasionally have what we call Careers. They train their whole life for this, to prove that they are the strongest and to bring honour back to their home. The winners are usually them," he sighs.

I nod them return to looking around, a small dark skinned girl is standing beside a huge male of the same darkness of skin, he seems to be comforting her as she stands their and bites her thumb.

"So what? We show our fighting abilities here – then what?"

He keeps his face blank as he bends down to tighten his boot laces, "Observation, evaluation, score, sponsors, games," he says.

A woman steps forward and calls everyone into a circle, she is tall and athletically built. She introduces herself as Atala and she starts to describe all of the stations and weapons when two figures walk in late. I turn to look at them as they walk into the circle, the male is blonde with blue eyes and the female with brown hair that is braided down the side, her grey eyes stand out against her olive skin tone. They look to each other as Atala continues on with her talk, talking about survival skills and fighting techniques. She eventually reads a list when my eyes catch something along the circle, a face I knew very well and at one point despised. The face of Cormac McLaggen.

He hasn't seen me as he stands with his chin in the air, his eyes on the head trainer as she speaks. I can see from here that his right eye is slightly bruised, everything about him screams abuse as he refuses to look round. I can't believe it, he's here, he's in this weird place. Maybe he can tell me how he got here and how I came to be here too, we could escape together. Back to Harry and Ron and our real lives.

I step forward but Sam pulls me back, he shakes his head as I try to wrestle out his grip, "I know him, I know him," I whisper.

He shakes his head again as Atala starts the training off, telling us to chose a station of our own choice, "And absolutely no fighting each other," she warns as everyone splits up. I start to walk towards Cormac who was now at the camouflage station along with the two people that arrived late. I start to make my way across to him but Sam pulls me back, "Not here, not now," he says quietly.

"But I know him," I tell him.

"Then that's an even better reason to stay away from him," he says in reply.


	4. Why Can't We Be Friends?

Thank you for all your reviews so far, I love reading them and it makes me want to write more for you. Also, because of the reviews, I'm taking longer on each chapter, I want to get the story right, for it to make sense and for it to blend in with the The Hunger Games book. I hope you like it and keep reviewing. :)

* * *

I watch from my station, I can't believe it's him, it's really him. Cormac McLaggen, here, somewhere, wherever the heck it is. I frown as I try to think of the last time that I saw him, I guess it was our sixth year at Hogwarts when he was the biggest pain, ever. But still, he's here and I've never so happy to she his face, his face gives me hope, hope that we can get out of here.

The instructor at the knives station is tapping me on the shoulder as my gaze is locked on Cormac, he is watching his instructor as he goes over something. I turn at the tap and look at him, "Sorry, I need the loo. Where is it?"

His expression shows complete confusion, "The what?"

I sigh, "The bathroom, where is it?"

His features soften as he realises what I meant, "Oh right, just across the arena and through the door. An attendant will show you where to go from there," he smiles slightly then turns back to Sam who is eyeing me suspiciously.

I nod at him then jump off the stool I was sitting in the started to walk over to where the instructor pointed but I take a small detour to walk past Cormac's station. I hear the District 12 pair talk as I slow my pace down, "Don't be so superior. You can never tell what you'll find in the arena. Say it's actually a gigantic cake-" the male says.

The black haired girl cuts him off, "Say we move on."

They get off their stools and walk to a different station, I watch them leave then take the seat beside Cormac. I smile sweetly at the instructor as he starts explaining what this station is for. He then goes over to another female as she calls him over. I take the opportunity to lean over to pretend I'm reading a card and whisper, "Cormac?"

He doesn't look up as he attempts to camoflauge his arm, "What?"

I bite my lip, his voice sounds so strange, so much different from what I remember, "Cormac, it's me, Hermione. Hermione Granger," I say.

He sticks his tongue out in concentration as he paints some lines, "Good for you," he grunts.

I frown, "What's wrong with you?"

He slams his paintbrush down on the counter and swivels in his stool to face me, "What's wrong with me? You are, you're distracting me. Now can you kindly bugger off?"

My eyes widen, "Cormac, you know me. We - we dated. Please say you know me?"

He looks in my eyes but I see nothing, no trace of the person that I used to know. All I see is rage building, rage in his eyes that is directed at me, "I don't know you, please leave," he turns away from me and picks his brush back up.

The instructor comes back over and he looks at me, "Is everything ok? Do you want me to go over anything again?"

I shake my head, "No thank you, I'm just looking for the loo - I mean bathroom," he points to the door where I was previously directed to and I thank him and head through it.

A person appears by my side instantly and practically guides me to the female bathroom. I thank the person and enter it. At first it looks quite plain but as I walk further in, it gets more extravagent. I walk up to the sinks and run my fingers over the chrome taps, I lean down and see that a _C_ is engraved into each and every tap head. "Capitol," I murmur as I raise my eyeline to myself in the exceptionally clean mirrors that fill an entire wall. I pull ar the collar of my shirt and notice a small red dot. I poke it and wince slightly, "Oww," I say before letting my collar go to stare at my reflection.

I punch the sink and instantly regret it, "Oww," I murmur again. "Hermione, just calm down. You can do this, just take a deep breath," I say as I stare into my own brown eyes.

As I stare at the mirror a pop sounds then a small crack starts to appear, I frown as it starts to happen all along the wall. The anger inside me starts to bubble up and I punch the sink again, I've never been so angry before, not even when Ron thought Crookshanks ate Scabbers. This is a different kind of anger, a white hot anger caused by confusion and lack of understanding. I punch the sink for a third time and I jump back as the cracks widen, I stare in disbelief as the whole wall starts to shudder and before I can react, the whole thing erupts and glass flies everywhere. I dive out of the way and cover my head with my arms, the glass falls down in a torrent and a few shards embed the skin of my hands as I cower under my hands.

I wince as I push myself back up, the glass litters the floor and an empty plain wall is left with several shards that couldn't quite fall. I hold my hands out and look at the small pieces that have sunk in, I grit my teeth and start to pull them out when I pause, someone just walked in. It is the small dark skinned girl, she frowns at the mess then looks at me, "Are you ok?" I pick the last piece out and squeeze my eyes shut as a thin line of blood trickles down my closed fist. She notices, "Is your hand ok? You're bleeding," she points out.

I turn to look at her, her eyes full of innocence and hope, "I'm fine, thank you," I say.

She frowns at the glass then looks at the wall, "How did that happen?"

I scrunch my eyes up slightly as the cuts on my hand start to nip, "I- uh, I-I came into the bathroom and it was already like this," I lie hoping she will buy it.

She doesn't, "Then why are your hands cut?"

I sigh, "Fine, I broke the mirror with magic. I can't help it, it just happens sometimes," I say.

She giggles slightly as the attendant comes in, "It's ok, you don't have to tell me, I won't tell anyone. I promise," she says.

"Come on, back to the arena now," the woman holds the door open for me, waiting for me to exit.

I start to leave when the little girl smiles. "My name is Rue, nice to meet you," she says.

I'm taken back with her geniune smile, "I-I'm Hermione," I say before the woman closes the door on me and forces me back in the direction of an unresponsive Cormac and the others.

I go back over to Sam with my hands in my pockets, he's now at the swords station, "Hey," I mumble as I stand beside him.

Sam looks up at me but refuses to press on the subject of my absence, he's busy focusing on what he was being told. In the next station over, the huge blonde male is brutally attacking the dummies with his sword. His movements are swift and precise, a natural born killer. I bite my lip as his district partner picks up several knives, she smirks at him and turns to face her targets. One by one, targets pop up rapidly and with every single throw, she hits the heart. A born killer and a deadly aim, how can anyone else stand a chance? I shake my head and turn back to my station, Sam is failing as he attempts to string a bow. His hands fumbling over the thin wire as he tries to tie it to the curved wooden stick, "Sam, relax. You can do this," I say.

He shakes his head after handing the unstrung bow back to the instructor, "I can't, I've never fought before, I can't do this," he sighs.

"It's easy once you relax and calm down. Here, I'll show you," I say as I pick up his bow and attached the string to it. I tighten it till I am satisfied then I pick up an arrow, "Let's try this," I mutter.

He watches as I hook the arrow on and take aim, a target pops up and I focus the point of the arrow on the heart. I take a deep breath then let it go, the arrow flies from the string and strikes the shoulder of the target, "That wasn't supposed to happen," I frown then take another arrow. I here a few chuckles as I walk back to the line. I see Rue give me a thumbs up and I nod at her, she smiles slightly as she turns away. The district 2 boy folds his arms over his chest and smirks at the girl beside him. She smirks back, a smirk like that doesn't belong on such a beautiful face a hers. Back home, she would be one of the popular girls but here, she's a lethal weapon.

I shake my head and block them all from my thoughts, I repeat the steps but take longer to perfect my aim. I release the arrow and this time it hits the heart, the arrow stayed true. I smile to myself and turn back to Sam, "That went well," I say.

"Where did you learn that?" he asks.

I place the bow back on the stand then turn to him, "I used to have trips out with my parents. It was my father's idea to go to archery twice a year. I miss it but there are more important things that I got involved in," I say as I rub my right hand. Wiping the traces of blood away from sight.

Later on, when we are sittng in the lounge, Sam breaks the silence, "My father is a warehouse manager, what are your parents?" he asks.

I sit up straight and cross my legs on the couch, "Both my parents are dentists," I reply.

He looks at me for a moment with utter confusion then moves on, "My father's father and his before him have always been managers, they were expecting me to pick up the family business but then - then I was reaped. He'll be so disappointed," he says as the muscle in his jaw jumps.

I shake my head, "Don't say that, I'm sure your father is proud of you," I say.

He meets my eyes, "Proud? Proud of what? Proud that his one and only son will be dead soon?" he says as he gets up to start pacing.

"Sam he'll be proud of you for who you are, for what you have become. I don't really know you but I can see you are a nice guy, just trying to do the right thing in the wrong place," I shrug.

He stops pacing and watches me as I go to look out of the window, the streets are lined with thousands of people and there is music playing in the background. They are all having a great time, "Listen to them, celebrating these games. Are they that barbaric?"

He appears at my side, his eyes fixed on the celebrations below us, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the 74th Annual Hunger Games," he says with malice.

We both turn as footsteps sound behind us, Iona gives us a sympathetic smile then claps her hands together, "Bed time, dears," she says.


End file.
